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[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E135]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
HONORING THE LEGACY OF LAURA W. MURPHY
______
HON. JOHN CONYERS, JR.
of michigan
in the house of representatives
Friday, January 30, 2015
Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor one of the most
prominent and important civil liberties and civil rights advocates of
our time--my friend, Laura W. Murphy. Laura is the longest serving
director of the Washington Legislative Office of the American Civil
Liberties Union, and will be stepping down at the end of the month. It
is my pleasure to honor her public service and to wish her well in her
next chapter. Most recently, Laura was instrumental in advising
Attorney General Eric Holder and the United States Sentencing
Commission on ways to reduce overcrowding among federal prison
populations. She worked closely with Attorney General Holder and
leaders of the House and Senate in passing the Fair Sentencing Act of
2010, a law that reduced the sentencing disparity between crack and
powder cocaine, which ignited a movement to finally begin to end racial
disparities in our criminal justice system. Among Laura's other
profound legislative accomplishments was working closely with Congress
and the White House to build support for essential and federally funded
reproductive health services for servicemembers and their dependents in
cases of rape and incest. This was among the few abortion rights
victories of the last 40 years.
Laura has been a leading voice in Washington, D.C. and throughout
the country for freedom of speech, including her office's tireless
efforts to preserve the First Amendment in the face of calls for a
constitutional amendment that would lead to laws against so-called flag
desecration, that would restrict internet free speech, and that would
censor lyrics in rap and other music genres. She has been a tenacious
advocate for checks and balances to prevent abuses by Intelligence
agencies and finally rolling back the significant overreach of the USA
Patriot Act. Her work on LGBT rights, mass incarceration and racial
profiling, comprehensive immigration reform, privacy, reproductive
rights, and voting rights has been peerless.
Laura is a familiar face in Congress, and among the few people who
can call both Representative Maxine Waters and Senator Mitch McConnell
friends, an advocate who has shown the nation how to achieve bipartisan
success in these hyper-partisan times. She has testified more than a
dozen times before the House and Senate and is a frequent contributor
to national dialogue on critical legislative issues. One of the ACLU's
most prominent spokespersons, Laura is also an author, including book
chapters on homeland security and the African American community's
response to the 9/11 attacks. Repeatedly named among the most
influential advocates in Washington, D.C. and frequently cited by the
Washington Post, Laura has been an important voice for more than four
decades, advising U.S. Presidents from Ronald Reagan to Barack Obama.
We in Congress are losing not only a tireless advocate for civil
liberties and civil rights, we are losing a dear friend, respected and
admired by all who know her. I am hopeful that she will remain close at
hand and active in the fight for basic American values. Those closest
to her know that fighting for justice is in Laura's DNA--she is a
direct descendent of one of the signers of the Declaration of
Independence, Philip Livingston.
I urge you to join me in wishing Laura Murphy all the best, to
congratulate her as she faces new adventures, and to thank her for her
many years of service.
____________________